Bahrain and Qatar have agreed to encourage the free movement of workers between the two Gulf Arab neighbors, which settled a land dispute in March, newspapers reported on Sunday, July 8.

The agreement came during a visit to Qatar on Saturday by Bahrain's Labor Minister Abdel Nabi Al-Shuala who met the emir, Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani, and other Qatari officials.

The two sides agreed "to integrate the national workforce of each country in the local market, create new job opportunities for them, and encourage and ensure their smooth movement" between Qatar and Bahrain, Shuali told reporters.

Bahrain, where unemployment is running at between 20,000 and 30,000, or more than 20 percent of the active local population, launched a $65-million drive in April to create employment and training schemes for young job seekers.

Since a decades-old land dispute was resolved by the World Court, Qatar and Bahrain have announced plans to step up financial and economic cooperation as well as links in trade and investments. ― (AFP, Manama)